Last time we looked at Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus and the destruction that ripped through Europe in the 1940s. Europe was rebuilt over the following decades and the American empire rose to dominate the world. But the destruction and nihilism that Mann described in his novel didn’t go away. The spiritual sickness is still with… Continue reading Exploring Faust in the 21st Century
We’ve been exploring the development of Faust and how the myth has changed over the centuries. Last time we covered Goethe’s version, the favourite because it paints our obsession with progress as a good thing. The world has changed a lot since it was written and we can now see where that obsession has brought… Continue reading Exploring Faust: Thomas Mann and the End of the West
Last time we looked at the history of the Faust legend and the first popular version by Christopher Marlowe. The tale grew out of the Reformation and it reflected the needs of the time. But as the Renaissance morphed into the so-called Age of Enlightenment in the 17th century, people needed a new myth and… Continue reading Exploring Faust: Goethe and the Myth of Progress
The legend of Faust tells the tale of a man who makes a deal with the devil to gain magical powers. The devil’s representative is Mephistopheles, who gives Faust power for twenty-four years, after which the devil takes his soul to hell. There are many different versions of the tale and it changes to reflect… Continue reading Exploring Faust: History and Christopher Marlowe
Jessica Davidson 